


Solace

by Woofemus



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23036446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woofemus/pseuds/Woofemus
Summary: Athena just makes her feel a certain way.
Relationships: Athena/Medusa (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	Solace

**Author's Note:**

> the thirst is real

Medusa comes back later than she expects. 

It's not like it's _late_ like late that the skydwellers call early morning or… whatever part of the sky the moon is in. But it's late enough that when she opens the cabin door, she has to be careful not to squeak it or else it might wake up everyone inside. 

Not that it matters, though, not when Medusa knows Athena sleeps like she's dead to the world. 

And as she's expected, Athena is deep asleep on the bed, propped up by pillows with a book splayed open in her lap. The lamp is still on. She must have fallen asleep without meaning to. Which means… she must have tried to wait for Medusa to come back. 

The sight makes something inside of Medusa feel… funny. It's like she's jittery, but in a way that she can't say she dislikes the feeling. The corners of her mouth are twitching like she's trying to fight against a smile she wishes she wasn't trying to make. Ugh, why does Athena have to be like this. 

After changing into her night clothes, Medusa climbs onto the bed and sits with her knees down. Athena doesn't even move. It surprises her sometimes, that Athena sleeps so _deeply_. A warrior like Athena feels like someone who'd wake up at the slightest sound or sense of movement. 

"Look at you, just sleeping away," Medusa mutters with a sigh as she watches her. It's a little strange, not seeing the usually stern look Athena wears. It isn't often that Athena gets to drop that expression, with her habit of always overthinking the smallest things, or worrying about things she thinks she should. Athena could stand to relax a little more, but Medusa knows she'd disagree. 

There's a small tug on Medusa's hair, and she looks down to find one of her snakes slithering up Athena's arm and onto her shoulder. It's going toward her face, and its tongue flicks out, brushing against Athena's cheek—

"H-hey!" Medusa quickly pulls it away, the snake turning back to strands of hair. Her eyes dart back to Athena, holding her breath just in case, but Athena remains the same. Medusa slowly lets out her breath. Ugh, her snakes have been nothing but trouble lately. It's a good thing Athena finds them more amusing than annoying. 

A yawn slips out of Medusa then. Still, she isn't sleepy yet. Well, she's tired from frolicking around all day, but it isn't like the sort of sleepy tired she feels. It's more like she's in the mood to lay down somewhere warm and stay there for a few hours. Unfortunately, it's night time right now so there are no places for her to do this. 

Except, as her eyes roam over Athena… 

Medusa spies the little snout that peeks out of the blanket over Athena. When she lifts the covers, there's Medusiana, having taken on a smaller form to nestle into the crook of Athena's arm. She jolts awake, wiggling her head slightly as her tongue flickers out to sense Medusa. 

"You're in my spot, you know," Medusa mutters. Medusiana flicks her tongue several times like she's laughing before she stops, still again. Medusa glowers at her before dropping the blankets back onto Medusiana. She'll let Medusiana have this one. 

… and there's still Athena's other side. Medusa looks down at the unoccupied spot. Athena's other hand is holding onto the open book. No use for that now, as Medusa takes it. 

Catching a glance of the title of the book makes her grimace. On the bedside table is a stack of books with similar titles. Medusa makes a face as she adds it to the pile. Of course Athena would stay up reading boring stuff like war strategies and negotiation tactics. She should find her some better books to read, something that might seem _fun_. Since Nezha keeps insisting on making her read books about skydwellers, Medusa should find something for Athena too. 

Medusa turns back to Athena. And... now she's bored. Maybe she _should_ just go to sleep, but there's a strange restlessness taking ahold of her. Something about her day feels unsatisfied, which doesn't make sense to Medusa because she's had a productive day of being in town! 

Ugh, trying to figure it out is getting her nowhere. Grumbling to herself, Medusa takes the blanket and throws it over herself, making sure it covers over her head. She likes the feeling of being wrapped up. The blanket is long and big enough that Medusiana is still covered too, but maybe Medusa should still wrap her up though. 

Except Athena makes a sound at that moment, and Medusa freezes in place as Athena's eyes flutter open. "Ah… Medusa? You're back?"

Medusa blinks at her, and when Athena sleepily blinks back, she realizes Athena really is awake. "Yeah, I've been back for a while now." 

Athena shakes her head. "Forgive me, I did not mean to fall asleep before you came back." She looks down at her hand. "Ah, you've put away my book as well. Thank you." 

"I wasn't counting on you being awake anyway. You always get so tired after one of those mission things the Captain makes you do." 

"Oh… I suppose I do." Athena hums, glancing away from her. She looks back, a small smile on her face now. "Welcome back."

"T-thanks," Medusa mumbles, fighting desperately to keep the blush off her face. Ugh, why does hearing that and seeing her smile make Medusa feel all dumb and giddy? She's being silly. 

"How was your venture into town? You went with Rosetta and Noa, yes?" Athena asks, yawning afterward. Medusa rolls her eyes. It's more than obvious how much Athena is trying to keep herself awake. Medusa has _lots_ of things to tell her but she isn't cruel to make Athena stay awake to listen to her. She already feels guilty enough, having Athena wake up on her. It's irritating sometimes, how Athena tries to be considerate without regard to herself. 

"Just go to sleep, you idiot. You can barely keep your eyes open. I don't want to repeat myself for you again in the morning!" Medusa huffs. 

Athena smiles sheepishly. "I'm sorry—ah?!" 

Medusa's reached out to pinch her cheek, frowning. "You don't have to apologize for that! But you're going to have to listen to me all of tomorrow then, alright?" Her frown turns into a lopsided smile. "Otherwise, I won't share the delicious candy I got with you." 

Athena should really learn to be a little more selfish, she thinks. It'll wear Medusa out trying to get Athena to do things for her own good. But it's also exactly like Athena to be like this, and she should be happy that Medusa is around to make sure she doesn't tire herself out. 

Athena laughs softly, and Medusa can feel the muscles of her cheek twitching into a smile. "Very well then. I look forward to hearing your tales." 

There's just something about the way Athena talks to her so sincerely instead of teasing her like everyone else would have that makes Medusa… she's not sure how to describe the feeling. She knows Athena always takes her seriously (maybe a little too much) and would never even think of making fun of her. Sometimes, when Medusa thinks about it, it makes her want to smile and scowl at the same time. How does Athena always get her to feel this way? 

It _definitely_ doesn't feel nice at all, definitely doesn't give her a pleasant, fuzzy feeling at all. Medusa's just finally being given the respect she deserves! 

"Y-yeah! You're gonna need all the sleep you can get! I've got tons to tell you!" Medusa says. Athena blinks at her before slowly nodding. _Now_ , Medusa is aware that she's still touching Athena's face and quickly pulls away her hand. She tries not to think about how cold her hand feels now.

Instead of listening to her though, Athena is still sitting up and sleepily watching her. Medusa fights against the blush her face wants to make. Her own body always does the most traitorous things against her when it comes to Athena. 

"W-what is it?" Medusa huffs. 

Athena doesn't answer her but she blinks rapidly, as if trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. An annoyed growl rises at the back of Medusa's throat. What is Athena trying to do, waking herself up? "Hey, go back to sleep—" 

Athena's eyes abruptly sharpen and lock onto hers, and Medusa freezes in place. Her first instinct is to move away—she _should_ , but the weight of Athena's stare keeps her still. Rather, it's the way Athena's face softens afterward, the tender look she gives her and the open affection Medusa can see—

Every nerve is telling her to hide away. She can hear the blood running through her ears, every nerve telling her to hide away. But she doesn't move, and it allows Athena to raise her hand and gently cup Medusa's cheek. 

Athena's hand is _warm_. Like, one of those (amazing) skydweller inventions, a kind of electric heater warm. But instead of overbearingly hot, it's more… pleasant. 

And then Medusa realizes Athena's hand is on her face. Medusa's whole face burns as she starts to sputter. "W-w-w-what are you doing?!" 

Athena blinks at her, and Medusa's face feels like it might actually be on fire when she can see Athena's gaze flicker down to her lips. Her thumb brushes across them. Her fingertips are rough with calluses but her touch is so gentle that it feels ticklish. Athena has always made sure to never handle her roughly ever since Medusa promised not to terrorize the skydwellers anymore. 

And without further warning, Athena slowly leans forward. A choked sound slips out of Medusa and she squeezes her eyes shut. This is—everything—it's all so _embarrassing_ for Medusa and… and…

Nothing happens.

Confused, Medusa hesitantly peeks open her eyes. What she sees is Athena's head lolled to the side with her eyes closed, clearly asleep again. 

"Wha—are you kidding me?!" Medusa gapes at her. She's not sure what more she's annoyed at: Athena falling asleep on her, or getting her hopes up— 

Ugh! 

Athena's hand starts to slip from her face. Medusa catches it before it falls completely. She keeps it against her cheek. It's warm, and—and well, it's a little cold on her face. That's what she's telling herself. 

Even with Medusa's hand on her, Athena hasn't woken up at all. She really must have been more tired than she thought. As carefully as she can, she eases Athena back onto the pillows. All Athena does is scrunch her nose before her expression returns to normal. 

Medusa watches her again. When it seems like Athena isn't going to wake up again, she lets herself finally relax. And… while she's laying on top of Athena like this… she might as well make herself comfortable, tucking herself underneath Athena's chin. 

It's… nice. Athena's warm. Like… almost stupidly warm. Maybe having this blanket makes her burn. But Athena doesn't show any discomfort, or seem like she's uncomfortable with it. Still, Athena's never the type to voice aloud her discomfort, which means it's up to Medusa to figure out how Athena's really feeling.

Athena hums suddenly, and her arms wrap around Medusa and pull her closer, even closer than Medusa had been intending to stay. She only meant to do this for a moment, but now she's trapped here.

"Ugh." Medusa grumbles, frowning into Athena's neck. With Athena's arm gone, Medusiana wakes up, and now she's slithering against their legs, resting there instead. 

Left with no other choice, Medusa forces herself to relax after being startled by Athena's sudden movement. If she's stuck here, she might as well enjoy it—not that she'll admit that being in Athena's arms always feels nice or anything! 

Yet, somehow, despite her wakefulness earlier, Medusa finds herself growing drowsy. The restlessness she felt is gone too. Even as she scolded Athena for waking up, there's a small part of her that feels glad she'd woken up. Since the morning, Athena had been gone on whatever mission the Captain needed her for, leaving Medusa all alone to herself. How bored she was, to even go into town with Rosetta and Noa to pass the time! Spending the day out in a town of skydwellers but not having Athena there—

Medusa's eyes widen, realizing where her thoughts are going. No way she was doing something like _missing_ her. It—it just would have been better if Athena, always so clueless about skydwellers, was there to learn more about them too! 

Athena mumbles something in that instant, breaking through Medusa's thoughts. Once more, Medusa is aware of the warmth coming from Athena, and it calms her down. There's something about it more beyond the heat, though. 

If there's one way she can describe it, it would be… _safe._ Like… when they're in battle and Athena uses her shield to guard them both from an attack, and Medusa _knows_ for certain that nothing can break through Athena's aegis. It's that sort of reassurance? 

Maybe that's something that's a part of Athena's innate nature, being a guardian primal beast. Being around Athena naturally makes her feel safe, like a comfort. The nightmares of the War and her sisters come less when she's like this. 

… but it's also nice that Athena is warm. 

That's all there is to it, Medusa tells herself, as her eyes close and she listens to the sound of Athena's breathing and lets it lull her to sleep. Athena's warm, and Medusa likes the warmth, and if Athena is so willing to offer, then why would Medusa have any reason to refuse? The weird, fluttery feeling she gets when she's around Athena has nothing to do with it at all. 

Nothing more, she tells herself, even as she drifts off to thoughts of all the new things she'll be able to tell Athena tomorrow.


End file.
